Financial insight is an acquired skill. Even the most experienced business owners can overlook opportunities or put themselves at risk of issues that are actually in plain sight, simply because they are busy and distracted.
Insight is a business super power you’ll develop as your business grows and matures, but until then, how to succeed in business is all about buying the best financial management you can afford!
I often talk about financial oversight and financial insight and it’s important to know the difference.
Financial oversight requires someone to actively manage your business day to day. If you don’t have the time or inclination to do this yourself, engage an accountant to do it for you.
Financial insight is about applying what you know about your business to leverage market forces so you may improve, grow and prosper.
Your financials are the foundation on which business success is built and they underpin every aspect of your operation from IT, HR and sales and marketing to operations and logistics.
It takes higher-level financial insight to pre-empt needs, anticipate problems and initiate solutions. This higher-level approach to financial management addresses your day to day operational needs while proactive planning to ensure the business can fund and manage expansion, take advantage of opportunities and overcome setbacks. All of which relies on the skillset of a Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
For many businesses, employing a full-time senior accountant or a CFO isn’t financially viable. The alternative is to implement a CFO financial management service.
CFO management services are relatively new and best suited for business owners managing growth and/or navigating complex financial and tax matters.
Engaging a CFO management service is also suitable for business owners who understand the two-fold benefits of access to a highly qualified advisor (and their team). Firstly, CFO financial management service professionals offer enduring freshness of insight rather than the natural staleness that can be associated with permanent employees closeted in a corner office. Secondly, paying a fee that’s comparable to or less than the huge salary plus benefits you’ll pay for an inhouse CFO or senior accountant, is also a very attractive proposition.
Financial insight offered as part of a specialised CFO financial management service is cost-effective and practical – I know because I’ve done the figures to prove it – and I know it works, because I’ve very successfully delivered CFO financial management services for years to a range of clients.
In my experience, buying the best financial management you can afford is a fundamental key to business success.
To learn more about how to succeed in business and discover the benefits of CFO management services, please contact me on shane@makecentsaccounting.com.au
This information (including taxation) is of a general nature only and neither represents nor is intended to be personal advice on any particular matter. Make Cents Accounting strongly suggests that no person should act specifically on the basis of the information in this document, but should obtain appropriate professional advice based on their own personal circumstances.
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